Introducing: Gina Miyoko, a petite San Francisco Bay area PI with a Russian American mother obsessed with good luck charms and a Japanese American father who loves Sherlock Holmes.

What it's about: When Gina's best friend, a National Park Service agent preparing to testify in a stolen artifacts case, is stalked, Gina investigates and ends up in Mexico posing as a wealthy femme fatale.

Is it for you? Try this 1st in a new series if you’re looking for an action-packed mystery with a tough, clever heroine (like Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone), a diverse cast, and plenty of archaeological details.

What it is: This sequel to The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau is an atmospheric literary mystery with noir elements as well as a Georges Simenon pastiche with a bit of metafiction tossed in.

What happens: A car accident leaves a local lawyer dead, and as a favor to his beautiful widow, provincial French police detective Georges Gorski investigates. Meanwhile, the dead man's Sartre-reading 17-year-old son finds an address on a scrap of paper that leads to his own questions about his father.

What it's about: In 1604 Devon, England, Dr. Gabriel Taverner and his widowed sister Celia uncover dark secrets in their small village after the vicar behaves strangely, someone breaks into a home, and a vagrant dies.

Series alert: This is the 2nd well-researched, richly detailed Gabriel Taverner historical mystery; the 1st is A Rustle of Silk.

Reviewers say: "Clare reinforces her place among the top rank of historical writers" (Publishers Weekly).

What it is: a delightful cozy mystery that combines small-town Maine charm with social issues and takes place during the holidays.

What happens: The leader of a small religious cult carries a strange grudge against Liss MacCrimmon's Scottish Emporium, her father-in-law's hotel, and other local business. After the group pickets and harasses Liss and others, a murder occurs.

For fans of: This 12th outing for Liss will please fans of Donna Andrew's Meg Langslow mysteries especially those who don't mind less zaniness.

Starring: young Minneapolis reporter Joe Talbert, who lives with his law-student girlfriend and his autistic younger brother.

What happens: Joe is sued by a senator for defamation of character and put on leave, so he has time to check things out when he learns about the nearby murder of a much-disliked man...who may be the father Joe never knew.

Read this next: If you like this sequel to The Life We Bury, and want similar novels, check out Allen Eskens' mysteries starring detective Max Rupert, who appeared with Joe in The Life We Bury.

Featuring: persistent, tough 8th Army CID agents George Sueño and Ernie Bascom in their 13th outing.

What happens: In the 1970s Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea, a South Korean soldier assisting the U.S. Army is found murdered, lying on the countries' dividing line, igniting tensions.

Reviewers say: "One of the most powerful episodes in an always-strong series" (Booklist)

Read this next: James Church's Inspector O series, set in North Korea.

Focus on: Jane Austen

December 16th is Jane Austen's birthday, so we've pulled together a few books to help you celebrate; now all you need is a cup of English Breakfast or Earl Grey tea!

What happens: In 1843, 26 years after Jane Austen's death at 41, her close friend, governess Anne Sharp, uncovers evidence that Jane may have been poisoned. This causes her to examine life with the Austens, including shocking secrets, forbidden loves, and maybe murder.

Who it's for: Janeites who appreciate reworkings that cast old characters in surprising new lights.

Want a taste? "The day Jane came I was standing at the top of the stairs, high above the gilded columns and marble friezes, holding the older children at bay until the formalities were over."

What happens: Jane Austen is drawn into a murder investigation when the noble husband of her friend Isobel dies suspiciously after only three months of marriage -- and accusatory notes suggest Isobel was having an affair and killed him.

Why you should read it: It is a truth universally acknowledged that if you're an Austenophile, you should try this 1st in a popular series; those who'd like to see Austen's characters as sleuths and enjoy a hint of the supernatural can pick up Carrie Bebris' Mr. & Mrs. Darcy books.

What it is: the 1st in a charming cozy mystery series set in a lighthouse library in North Carolina's Outer Banks, complete with a library cat.

Introducing: young assistant librarian Lucy Richardson, a Jane Austen fan, who's left her Harvard job and family to strike out on her own.

What happens: Happy to get away from her well-to-do family's expectations, Lucy loves her new job, especially since there's a new Jane Austen exhibit, but library politics, a murder, and a missing Jane Austen book mean she may not have it for long.

What happens: In Bath, England, abrasive DS Peter Diamond, who believes in old-fashioned police work, eschewing modern techniques, investigates when a woman's nude body is found in a lake and then letters attributed to former Bath resident Jane Austen disappear.

Series alert: Originally published in 1991, this is the witty, intricately plotted 1st in the popular Peter Diamond mystery series, which now numbers 17 (look for the 18th entry, Killing with Confetti, next summer).

For fans of: British police procedurals told from multiple points of view.